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OPA News Release: [10/28/2002]
Contact Name: Bill
Wright
Phone Number: (202) 693-1999
Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Group Meets
in San Diego
U.S., Canada, and Mexico partner in fostering
cooperation in workplace safety
WASHINGTON – Occupational safety and health officials from
the United States, Canada, and Mexico met Oct. 7 in San Diego for the second
session of the Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Working Group.
Formed under the auspices of the North American Free Trade
Agreement’s labor arm—the North American Agreement on Labor
Cooperation (NAALC)—the group brings together technical experts from the
three nations to advance cooperation and programs in key areas of occupational
safety and health. The group is headed by each nation’s top occupational
safety and health official. The three countries issued a joint
communiqué (full text attached) on continued technical cooperation on
occupational safety and health.
OSHA Administrator John Henshaw said this assembly of safety and health
professionals validates the importance being placed on worker safety and
health. “The workplace and businesses of our nations are interconnected
and interdependent,” he said. “This working group is dedicated to
producing tangible results, ones that will benefit us all by reducing injures,
illnesses and fatalities in all workplaces throughout North America.”
The working group established four subgroups to focus on key areas:
inspector and technical assistance staff training; handling of hazardous
substances; safety and health management systems and voluntary protection
programs; and communications and best practices sharing, including the
establishment of a trinational website that will link each country’s
occupational safety and health programs.
Consensus of the group is that training is a key component in improving
occupational safety and health throughout the three nations, and discussion
focused on a possible long-term goal of establishing an occupational safety and
health degree program and development of educational resources centers. The
group also recognized the importance of a common system for hazard
classification and labeling. It will consider the United Nations-supported
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.
Effective safety and health management systems are also crucial in reducing
work-related injuries and costs; therefore, the group will examine each
nation’s existing voluntary safety and health management systems and
programs.
The Trinational Working Group operates under the guidance of each
country’s National Administrative Office that administers the NAALC. The
group is scheduled to meet again next spring in Canada.
# # #
NAFTA Partners Meet to Continue Work of Occupational
Safety and Health Working Group
Occupational safety and health officials from the United States, Mexico,
and Canada met in San Diego, California on October 7, 2002, for the second
session of the Trinational Occupational Safety and Health Working Group of
Government Experts. This Working Group was established under the cooperative
program of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), the NAFTA
labor supplemental agreement, to bring technical government experts from the
three countries together to foster technical cooperation projects in key areas
of occupational safety and health. The group is headed by top occupational
safety and health officials from the three countries and operates under the
guidance of the each country’s National Administrative Office, which
administer the NAALC.
The Working Group ratified terms of reference outlining how the Working
Group will operate. Similar terms were agreed to for the four technical
subgroups including the involvement of labor and business organizations. While
the Working Group will continue as a government-to-government body, each
country will decide how to include labor and business organizations on a
case-to-case basis. The Working Group will meet semiannually and monitor the
performance of the subgroups. After each meeting of the Working Group, a
communication will be issued indicating progress and next steps.
The four subgroups are: training of technical assistance staff and
inspectors, handling of hazardous substances, safety and health management
systems and voluntary protection programs, and the development of a trinational
web page.
All three countries recognized training as a key component in improving
occupational safety and health across all three nations. As a result, the U.S.
committed to provide training and educational materials to Mexico and to
establish train-the-trainer courses for use by Mexican technical assistance
staff and inspectors. Mexico will translate these materials to offer support
for U.S. efforts to better reach its Hispanic workers. In addition, the
training subgroup will discuss possible long-term goals regarding an
occupational safety and health degree program and the development of
educational resource centers to provide for continuing educational courses in
Mexico.
On the handling of hazardous substances, all three countries recognized
the importance of discussing the issue of systems for hazard classification and
labeling. Each country committed to review its internal systems and consider
the UN-supported Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling
of Hazardous Chemicals. Future work may cover information exchanges regarding
issues such as best practices for compliance, the dissemination of hazardous
substance information to workers and employers and processes for certifying
independent laboratories that monitor exposure to hazardous substances.
The three countries also recognized the importance of effective safety
and health management systems as a factor in reducing work-related injuries and
illnesses and other related costs. As a result, the subgroup will examine the
similarities and differences in their existing voluntary safety and health
management systems and programs and recognize exemplary programs across all
three nations.
Finally, the three countries recognized the need for consistent
communications and best practice sharing. Consequently, the three countries
committed to utilizing the OSH Working Group website to share information on
best practices, to link to their national occupational safety and health
programs to their respective communities, and to communicate information on the
efforts of the Working Group to the public.
At the working session, the U.S. and Mexican representatives formally
welcomed Canada as a full participant in the group. The Working Group agreed to
meet again in the spring of 2003 in Canada to review progress and determine
next steps. The four subgroups will continue their work and further develop
proposals in their respective areas of expertise.
# # #
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